Formula One Gradebook: Belgian Grand Prix
For the second-last race ahead of the 2026 summer break, Formula One returned to the timeless Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the Belgian Grand Prix. Heralded as a true test for driver and machinery, with iconic sections such as Eau Rouge, it is one of the most coveted wins on the calendar.
Adding to his growing list of records and wins, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli took to the top step for the sixth time this season. With this victory, Antonelli has increased his championship lead to 50 points and remains the top contender for this year’s title.
The contrasting days for the Mercedes duo and the controversial decisions made by the stewards dominated the headlines. Heading into the midfield, the brewing battle between the likes of Alpine and Racing Bulls for the title of best of the rest as both teams are now tied on 61 points. Here’s how all 22 drivers performed on race day:
Mercedes
George Russell: B
On yet another occasion in 2026, Russell was forced to endure a difficult weekend and another points-less finish. Having qualified behind his teammate in fourth, the British driver was still in an excellent position to capitalise on any opportunities presented to him, especially with the grid promotion.
Opening laps in Spa are known for their chaos and this year was no different. However, Russell found himself in the midst of all the action. On the opening lap, having dropped back due to deployment issues, Russell was tagged by a Ferrari and sustained terminal damage.
With his race cut 43 laps short, the British driver scored no points and as a result, dropped to third in the championship standings.
Kimi Antonelli: A
On the other side of the Mercedes garage, Antonelli once again showcased why he deserves to be at the top of the championship standings.
Having qualified on pole, the Italian driver seemed confident in his car’s ability to fight for the win and see the chequered flag this weekend after his technical issues last time out.
Although not his most dominant win, Antonelli demonstrated his maturity over the last one-and-a-half seasons since his elevation to F1.
His notable moments this weekend included clean and calculated moves on Max Verstappen to get back into the lead in the opening stages of the race, and Charles Leclerc, for the eventual race win after the Virtual Safety Car.
As a result of this win, Antonelli has extended his championship lead out in front to 45 points.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc: A
After struggling to get up to speed in the opening part of the European section of the calendar, Leclerc has clearly turned things around. Starting Sunday’s Grand Prix in fifth, the Monegasque driver had an excellent getaway and managed to move past Verstappen for second.
Ferrari’s pace, one of their principal concerns this weekend, exceeded their low expectations. Although the Monegasque was noted and investigated for an incident with one of the McLarens, this ultimately came to nothing.
Aided by the timing of the Virtual Safety Car, Leclerc emerged from the pit-lane in the lead of the race and seemed like a potential contender for the race win.
Ultimately, although the pace of the Ferrari was better than expected, he was passed by Antonelli but remained within two seconds until the chequered flag. With another podium visit, Leclerc has added to his podium tally for this season with a second-place trophy.
Lewis Hamilton: B
For the seven-time world champion, it was a difficult weekend who struggled with consistency compared to his teammate and was on the receiving end of a few harsh decisions.
Keeping Leclerc company on the third row of the grid having started in sixth, Hamilton’s race was immediately thrown off-kilter after an opening lap incident between himself and former teammate Russell.
As a result of the incident, Hamilton was given a five-second time penalty and continued the race with minimal damage to his car.
Hamilton’s troubles continued when he and the team were noted for an unsafe release for which a post-race fine was applied. In the end, the seven-time world champion finished fourth and moved back into second place in the championship standings.
McLaren
Lando Norris: A-
The reigning world champion probably had his best and most consistent weekend of the season so far in Spa.
From the off, McLaren had revealed that Norris would be taking a grid penalty for utilising parts outside of his allocation; however, overtaking is known to be considerably easier on this circuit.
Qualifying in third but starting the race in 13th, Norris made quick work of moving past the backmarker teams and arrived in the top 10 within the first handful of laps.
Holding a considerable pace advantage over the drivers around him, it seemed Norris was almost guaranteed a visit to the podium. However, the pit-stop proved to be the turning point of his race after a late and slow stop of 7.8 seconds.
With the team failing to call him in under VSC conditions, Norris was left vulnerable to those on fresher tyres around him and ultimately had to settle for seventh despite being the quickest car on track.
Oscar Piastri: B+
Starting the weekend on the backfoot compared to his teammate, the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix winner struggled to establish consistency in the early part of the weekend.
Starting sixth after being pushed up a grid stop with Norris’ penalty, Piastri had a decent start and put himself into the mix of drivers heading for the podium.
After an incident with Leclerc in which the Australian driver sustained damage, his pace dropped off, and he was briefly passed by Norris although the intra-teammate battle continued for several laps.
During his second stint, Piastri recovered some of his pace; however, he was picked off by Hamilton and eventually crossed the line in fifth.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: A-
On a weekend where rumours about his future at his current team intensified, Verstappen had flashes of a great performance.
Sharing the front-row with Antonelli for the third time this season, the Dutch driver managed to get the better of the championship leader and briefly took the lead of the race.
However, as was expected by the team, Verstappen was unable to hold onto the position and was soon passed by Antonelli. As one of the first drivers to stop in the race, the four-time world champion was caught out by the timing of the VSC, running out of sync with the rest of the grid.
In the final stages of the race, Leclerc’s impressive pace on fresher tyres meant that Verstappen wouldn’t close up to take back second, and ultimately crossed the line for the final podium position.
Isack Hadjar: A
On what has to be one of his finest weekends so far as a Red Bull driver, Hadjar put together an exceptional performance from the back of the grid to finish sixth overall.
As one of five drivers set to face penalties ahead of Sunday’s race, the French driver was contending with a 30-place drop due to parts taken outside of his allocation.
Pitting twice during the early safety car, Hadjar and Red Bull were hopeful that they would not have to pit again. However, this was not the case.
Ultimately, even with a third pit-stop, the French driver in his debut season at the senior team managed to hold off Norris in the closing stages of the race. Post-race, Hadjar’s team principal Laurent Mekies confirmed: “It was certainly his best race with us”.
Haas
Ollie Bearman: C+
Although the opening lap in Spa is often an opportunity to make your way up the order, this is not always the case, and Bearman was one of the drivers to struggle when the five lights went out. Dealing with a technical issue which saw him drop down the order, the British driver also made contact with his teammate in the opening few laps.
Forced into an early stop because of a puncture, Bearman showed flashes of pace throughout the race and the overall weekend as well. However, he ultimately had nothing to show for it.
Coming in for a second stop while the majority of the grid committed to the one-stop strategy, Bearman’s chances of fighting for points diminished, and he ultimately crossed the line 14th.
Esteban Ocon: C
In a continuing trend for the French driver, it was another weekend to forget after a difficult qualifying session turned into a difficult race.
Having made contact with his teammate and one of the Williams cars on the opening lap, Ocon was also forced to come in due to a puncture.
From there onwards, Ocon was in the mix with the backmarkers but without the straight-line speed or grip to challenge effectively. In the same vein as his teammate, the French driver was committed to a second stop and dropped further down the order to 17th as a result.
Racing Bulls
Arvid Lindblad: A-
Off the back of a superb performance in Silverstone for his home Grand Prix, Lindblad impressed once again on one of his best F1 weekends so far this season.
With only one set of upgrades available to the team this weekend, Lindblad was chosen to test them and qualified in the top 10, which his teammate could not do.
In the race, Lindblad would spend most of his 44 laps battling the other midfield teams, including Audi. Although the British driver was caught out by the timing of the VSC, he was able to make the most of the pace in the car to cross the line in ninth.
This result, giving Racing Bulls 61 points, means that the team are now tied with Alpine in the championship standings.
Liam Lawson: B
Even without the upgrades on Lindblad’s car, Lawson had an excellent race start to go from outside the top 10 and into sixth. However, the pace advantage that the cars around him had meant that he was not able to hang onto the position for very long.
With the unfortunate timing of the VSC, considering that Lawson had come into the pit lane only a few laps before, the former Red Bull driver lost out on track position to the Audi driver behind.
After being overtaken by the Audi, Lawson had to contend with both Alpine drivers as well.
Having been caught out by Colapinto, and without the pace to fight back for the position, Lawson dropped out of the top 10. Ultimately, he finished 12th and revealed after the race that he was struggling with a deployment issue which hindered a lot of his race.
Audi
Gabriel Bortoleto: A
Another driver who had a very successful weekend was Bortoleto, who has now scored in back-to-back weekends, following up on eighth in Silverstone last time out.
Having started in the top 10, the principal concern for the team would have been the Brazilian driver’s ability to hang onto the position, which he indeed managed to do at the end of the opening lap.
Throughout the race, as he battled with Lindblad, who was quicker than the Audi on average, especially with the upgrades, Bortoleto managed to hold off the British driver.
Combining Bortoleto’s efforts with the team, the Audi pit crew executed an excellent pit stop, maximising the VSC opportunity and jumping the Racing Bulls duo in the pit-lane.
Nico Hülkenberg: B-
A difficult qualifying session on Saturday paired with a less than ideal start on Sunday effectively took the German driver out of contention for the points within the opening laps.
Comparable to Bortoleto’s pace, Hülkenberg was able to match the lap times of his less experienced teammate. However, he was not able to make his way through the pack.
Like his teammate, Hülkenberg benefitted from the VSC as it dropped him into the mix with the Alpines and Racing Bulls.
Despite the opportunity, the lack of straight-line speed, which has been a consistent complaint for the German driver, meant that he lost touch with the group soon afterwards.
In the end, as a cause for optimism for the team, Hülkenberg finished only 2.2 seconds off 10th.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly: B
On one of Alpine’s more difficult weekends so far this season, the experienced Frenchman struggled to find his footing.
With neither Alpine qualifying into Q3, Gasly’s 10th place start was due to Hadjar and Norris dropping to the back of the field.
After a disappointing opening lap, Gasly continued to suffer after he became one of the drivers to be caught out by the timing of the VSC.
In a close battle with their rivals, Racing Bulls, the French driver, along with his pit crew, attempted an undercut. However, a slow stop limited the effect of the undercut, leaving Gasly with a result just outside the points in 11th, marking his third non-points finish of the season so far.
Franco Colapinto: A-
Starting the race in 11th, behind his teammate and likes of Racing Bulls and Audi, Colapinto had his work cut out for him to finish in the points this weekend.
Although the team did not have the pace to out-right battle with the cars around them, Colapinto made the most of opportunities given to him in the opening stages of the race.
Like Gasly, Colapinto lost out by pitting just before the VSC was called but unlike his teammate, Colapinto’s pace meant that a double-overtake put him into tenth.
Finishing ahead of Lawson meant that the Argentinian driver was able to keep Alpine in fifth in the championship standings, albeit now tied for points with Racing Bulls.
Williams
Carlos Sainz: B-
As one of the drivers set to take a penalty this weekend, the opportunity to score points never presented itself for the Spaniard, who was set to start from 19th.
His race became yet more difficult after opening lap contact with Ocon meant that the former Grand Prix winner had to come into the pit-lane for an unplanned stop to change his front-wing.
Although the pace of the car seemed much better once the new front-wing had been added, there was still little for Sainz to do to improve his situation and he finished 16th.
Post-race, Sainz confirmed: “While we know the gap is increasing to the midfield and our upgrades coming won’t completely fill this, we’ve got some good learnings we can take forward."
Alex Albon: B-
Starting the race 15th, Albon was set for another quiet and lonely race, which materialised for the British-born Thai driver.
Having a relatively calm and straightforward weekend, an excellent start saw him firmly in the mix with the other midfield cars. However, the lack of pace saw him fall down the order just as quickly as he made his way through in the opening part of the race.
After falling further down the order, there was little for Albon to do except cross the line ahead of Sainz in 15th.
Having last scored points in Monaco, there can be no doubt that Albon will have high expectations from the B-Spec car that is set to be introduced at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after the summer break.
Cadillac
Sergio Perez: C-
After a string of races without any technical issues, it was yet another early retirement for the Mexican driver, who became the second of three retirements in the race.
Starting in 18th, Perez was able to make it until Lap 15 when he came in due to a terminal issue on his car.
On a weekend where Cadillac did not seem entirely competitive, the official cause for retirement revealed by the team was a suspension failure.
However, with the team’s investigation into the cause of the failure still ongoing, it seems that despite the recent upgrades, Cadillac still has a lot to learn about their cars.
Valterri Bottas: C
As the only Cadillac to cross the line and take the chequered flag, Bottas’ weekend was relatively quiet and without any major incidents. Starting 17th, the main aim for the Finnish driver was no doubt to collect valuable data ahead of the summer break.
As it has been for a majority of the season so far, it was a relatively lonely race for the former Mercedes driver with the upgrades pushing their performance ahead of Aston Martin, although not enough to bridge the gap to the likes of Audi or Haas ahead.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: C
With the first set of major upgrades set to be introduced at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix, they cannot come soon enough for the two-time former world champion after another disappointing weekend saw him finish at the back of the pack yet again.
Starting right at the back of the grid, there was little chance of Alonso making his way up into the points.
Instead, as Alonso himself confirmed post-race, the main focus for the team was to collect as much data as possible. In the end, he crossed the finish line two laps down on the race leader and in 19th.
Lance Stroll: C-
In the same line as Alonso’s race, Stroll also struggled this weekend with both pace and performance. Starting ahead of his teammate, there was little that Stroll could do from 20th on the grid.
Although the Canadian driver was prepared for another session of data collection, this is not how his race panned out. Stroll was called into the pits on Lap 27, and ultimately retired from the race due to a suspected gearbox issue.
Looking ahead
For the 11th round of the season, and the final race ahead of the summer break, F1 will travel to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
With the summer shutdown fast approaching, all 22 drivers and 11 teams will be aiming to maximise this final opportunity to conclude this part of the season.
Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Antonelli keeps raising the bar this season. Reading about races like this always reminds me of Slope Game—one tiny mistake can end a perfect run, so staying focused is everything. Fun game for anyone who enjoys speed and quick reflexes.
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